Folding furniture is well known and is popular for use in many endeavors. For example, folding chairs are used at the beach, for picnics, and at the sidelines of amateur sporting events. The general intent of folding furniture is ease of storage and portability—i.e., the furniture can be set-up for use and then folded down for transport and/or storage in a space of smaller volume than what the furniture occupies in its set-up condition. It also has been noted that it would be desirable to have the furniture fold down to fit within a space of minimum possible perimeter—i.e., for purposes of shipping the furniture at a minimal rate when the shipping rate is based in part on the volume and perimeter of the package to be shipped. However, the collapsibility of known folding furniture has been limited by certain design features, for example, the mutual arrangement of members to fold against each other without needing to disassemble and reassemble the article. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a folding article of furniture that does not easily or unintentionally collapse from its set-up condition, especially when in use, and that tends to remain in its folded condition, for example, during storage and/or transport.
On many items of folding furniture, carrying straps are provided for user convenience. However, certain problems exist with known arrangements of carrying straps. In particular, conventional carrying straps provide for shoulder carry of folded furniture items. The conventional straps typically are secured to the folding furniture at about the midline (center of gravity), which results in a tendency of the folding furniture to overturn while being carried. Additionally, a large part of the folding furniture may protrude above the carrying strap into a carrier's armpit. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a carrying strap that attaches to a folding article of furniture such that the furniture item can be carried under the arm or across the back with minimal discomfort to the carrier.